Behind the Scenes: Crafting Compelling Middle-Grade Narratives
Currently, I find myself absorbed in writing the second book of the Conspirators, titled “Pickpockets’ Guild”. For those unacquainted, The Conspirators is a mystery series for middle-grade readers.
Book I, "Conspirators' Club", is set against the backdrop of Shadow Skerry Academy, a boarding school on a forbidden island with a reputation for unfair rules and dreary cuisine enforced by the tyrannical headmaster.
Faced with these daily struggles, the four main characters, Peter, Jason, Sam, and Erick, come up with an idea of starting a secret prank club with a mission to challenge the Academy's unjust rules. The pranks (stealing back confiscated desserts, silencing the pesky school siren, etc.) aren't meant to hurt anyone, but to start a rebellion with the hope to eventually improve life for all students.
As the pranks escalate, so do the risks, and the heists take an unforeseen turn. The conspirators learn that their headmaster isn't merely a daunting authority figure but is a real threat. The hidden cave tunnels under the school hide a secret, fiercely guarded by the headmaster at any cost.
The club draws the protagonists into a realm of clandestine meetings and secrets that beg unraveling, and as the story unfolds, the kids forge a strong bond and their initial success serves to deepen their friendship and sharpen their detective skills.
In "Pickpockets' Guild," the stakes are higher, and the challenges take on a new flavor. At the start of the summer break, Peter is eager to take a much-anticipated road trip with his older brother. However, life takes an unexpected turn when Peter's best friend, Jason, runs away from home, triggering the unbreakable pact of the Conspirators' Club: "If one of us is in trouble, we all show up."
The call to action leads the Conspirators to track Jason to a cosplay village, where his adoptive father, recently released from jail, has evidently plunged back into a life of petty crime. Jason is under his father's sway and is caught in a dangerous dilemma—complete one last heist with his dad, and life returns to normal. The catch? He needs his friends' help.
As the Conspirators become entangled in a series of capers orchestrated by Jason's rogue dad, they are introduced to a realm of skillful thievery as both an art and a necessity. Faced with this perilous situation, the gravity of the danger is liable to test just about any bond of friendship, and in writing this story, I'm faced with the fun yet challenging task of choreographing these capers.
The challenge lies in maintaining a balance between the thrill of the heist and the moral compass of the protagonists, ensuring that each caper isn't just an entertaining plot point but that that it also serves to deepen the dilemma the characters face between wanting to save their friend and the fear of losing themselves in this new world without rules. As you can probably imagine, writing these capers also involves much research into the psychology of pickpocketing and the intricacies of their methods.
Drafting a book is an intriguing process. You start with a plan, a roadmap of plot points, but as you progress, challenges arise. There's a moment when a once-beloved plot twist, a guiding force in your story, loses its charm, or you suddenly realize the idea that seemed so brilliant, in fact, doesn't work with the rest of the story or doesn't make sense. It no longer fits. This is a dilemma faced by every writer writing for adults and children alike: persist with the original idea, even if it feels awkward, or pivot and rewrite?
The challenge is in keeping an open mind and doing your best to adapt to the changing nature of the story. This sometimes involves letting go of a plot point, to which you might've become quite attached, and make room for something different and, hopefully, better to come in its place. It's a form of problem-solving, and you often stumble on surprising ideas for plot twists where you least expect them, and the whole process is by turns fun, exciting, frustrating, and even scary sometimes.
In the end, of course, this whole process of ups and downs is what makes storytelling so much fun, and I'm definitely eager to see how Peter and his friends navigate their new adventure, so stay tuned.
